Electronic-mail filtering for mobile devices

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for dynamic electronic-mail filtering for mobile devices are provided. Incoming e-mail messages are received and provided to an e-mail inbox associated with the intended recipient. Those e-mail messages are evaluated to determine whether they may be desirable to the recipient. Desirability of an e-mail may be determined by such factors as the e-mail address of origin or key words in subject line. E-mail messages determined to be desirable are provided to a mobile device associated with the recipient. The recipient may then be notified concerning the desirable messages.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to electronic mail. More specifically, thepresent invention relates to electronic-mail filtering for mobiledevices.

2. Description of Related Art

Electronic-mail (e-mail) is a common method for transmitting messagesover electronic communication systems. E-mail messages may be receivedand stored by an e-mail server, which may then forward the messages to acomputing device associated with a recipient. Various e-mail programsallow for the messages to be sorted in an inbox and/or various foldersdesignated by the recipient.

E-mail is also a common method for transmitting unsolicited messages.Unsolicited e-mail messages may also be referred to as unsolicitedcommercial e-mail, bulk e-mail, junk e-mail, or spam. Presently, spammessages may be sent in such overwhelming numbers as to make itdifficult to find messages that are actually desired by the recipient.Various spam filters are available for preventing spam from beingforwarded to and cluttering the recipient's inbox. Spam filters mayidentify an e-mail message as spam and then automatically delete orreject the message.

Some spam filters may direct spam into a specific folder for spam (e.g.,a quarantine folder) instead of the e-mail inbox. The spam folder allowsfor the recipient to review a message to ensure that the message wascorrectly identified as spam by the spam filter before subsequentlyprocessing the same as a spam filter may incorrectly identify acommercial e-mail message as spam. For example, some commercial e-mailmessages may be desired by the recipient. An individual may choose tosubscribe to receive various commercial e-mail messages concerningtopics of interest. In some cases, a spam filter may mistakenly identifydesired messages as spam and filter out or delete these messages.

The problem of inbox clutter and reviewing messages in a quarantinefolder is magnified when an individual chooses to forward incominge-mail to a mobile device. Mobile devices make it possible for the userto receive and respond quickly to urgent, time-sensitive, or other typesof messages desirable to the user when away from a personal computer.While the size of mobile devices makes their use and portabilityconvenient, small size also presents some disadvantages. For example,because the display on mobile devices may be small, it is inconvenientfor a recipient to visually browse through a cluttered inbox crowdedwith unidentified spam, commercial e-mail messages, and various othere-mail messages that may not be desirable to the recipient. The size ofmobile devices may also make it difficult and inconvenient for the userto create e-mail filters, even if the user is knowledgeable enough to doso.

A further inconvenience of a mobile device is that the user may have tomanually reconfigure the filter to reflect updated information orrequirements. For example, the user may wish to adjust the filter toallow e-mail messages from a new contact to be sent to the mobile devicebelonging to the user. The user may need to add the contact to acontacts list, reconfigure the filter, and/or a combination of theforegoing for each e-mail account. Further, the user must use thesmaller-than-normal keypad on the mobile device. The user may also haveto make such data entries ‘on the go’ as the user is moving frommeeting-to-meeting by foot or by some other conveyance. Being on-the-goonly complicates data entry on a smaller than normal data entry device.

Other common-place factors in the mobile device world make repeatedreconfiguration experiences even more inconvenient. For example, the useof a ‘triple-tap’ keypad may require multiple depresses of a single keyto enter a single letter or number. Many devices utilize small displayscreens, which may make review of entered data difficult. The need toaccess more than one account (e.g., personal and work e-mail), limitedtime to access an account (e.g., only a few minutes before a lengthymeeting), and the need to have access to new data in near real-timefurther evidence the difficulties encountered with repeatedreconfiguration.

There is, therefore, a need in the art for improved electronic-mailfiltering for mobile devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary systems and methods of the present invention provide fordynamic electronic-mail filters for mobile devices. Incoming e-mailmessages are received and provided to an e-mail inbox associated withthe intended recipient. Those e-mail messages are evaluated to determinewhether they may be desirable to the recipient. Desirability of ane-mail may be determined by such factors as the e-mail address of originor key words in subject line. E-mail messages determined to be desirableare provided to a mobile device associated with the recipient. Therecipient may then be notified concerning the desirable messages.

Various embodiments of the present invention include methods for dynamicelectronic-mail filters for mobile devices. The methods includereceiving an e-mail message addressed to a user of a mobile device,providing the e-mail message to an e-mail inbox, and evaluating themessage to determine desirability. If the message is determined to bedesirable, a copy of the desirable message is provided to the mobiledevice associated with the user, along with notification that themessage is desirable. A message may be found desirable if the sendere-mail address is found in a contacts database associated with the user.A message may also be found desirable if the sender e-mail addressmatches the e-mail address used by the user to address an outgoingmessage. Yet another way for a message to be found desirable may be forkey words in the e-mail subject line to match key words in a subjectline of an e-mail previously sent by the user.

Various embodiments of the present invention include systems for dynamicelectronic-mail filters for mobile devices. The systems may include ane-mail server, a mobile device, and a mobile e-mail gateway. Embodimentsof the system may further include contacts databases and a messageprofile database. The contacts database may be associated with eitherthe e-mail program or the mobile device used by the user. The messageprofile database may be configured to store information concerningcharacteristics of the outgoing e-mail messages sent by a user of amobile device. For example, the message profile database may storeinformation concerning the recipient e-mail addresses used by the userto address an e-mail message and key words in the subject lines ofoutgoing e-mail messages.

Some embodiments of the present invention include computer media andinstructions for dynamic electronic-mail filters for mobile devices.Embodiments may further include instructions for allow a user to specifywhat kind of messages are desirable, including specifications concerninge-mail addresses of origin and key words in subject lines.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an exemplary implementation of a system forelectronic-mail filtering for mobile devices in a communicationsnetwork.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an exemplary electronic-mail server used insystems for electronic-mail filtering for mobile devices.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an exemplary mobile device used in systemsfor electronic-mail filtering for mobile devices.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting an exemplary method for electronic-mailfiltering for mobile devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention includes systems and methods for dynamicelectronic-mail filters for mobile devices. Because mobile devicedisplays are so small, a user may wish to be notified of only thosee-mail messages that are urgent, time-sensitive, or otherwise desirable.E-mail messages addressed to the user are received by an e-mail server,which forwards the messages to a mobile computing device associated withthe user. To make it more convenient for the user to distinguishdesirable messages from unidentified spam, commercial messages, andvarious other types of undesirable messages, the user may be notifiedconcerning only the desirable messages.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an exemplary implementation of a system forelectronic-mail filtering for mobile devices in a communications network100. In communications network 100, e-mail messages may be received bye-mail server 110 and transmitted over a local area network (LAN) 120such as an office communications network to a computing device 130.E-mail messages may also be forwarded through a wide area network (WAN)140 such as the Internet to a mobile device 160. In some embodiments,system 100 may further include a mobile e-mail gateway 150.

A network should be generally understood as a group of associateddevices (e.g., computing devices) that may be communicatively connectedto one another. Communications network 100 may relate a variety ofcomputing devices coupled to one another via a variety of communicationschannels (e.g., mobile telephone base stations, Internet and so forth).In that regard, networks should be interpreted as being inclusive ratherthan exclusive.

E-mail server 110 may be any combination of computer hardware andsoftware configured to receive and transmit e-mail messages. E-mailserver 110 may be, for example, an enterprise server, such as that foundin any number of corporate entities and businesses, configured to beaccessed by multiple computing devices, such as computing device 130. Inone example, the e-mail server 110 may be a Microsoft® Exchange® server,and computing device 130 may access e-mail on the e-mail server 110through a client software application (not shown) such as Microsoft®Outlook®. E-mail server 110 may also store e-mail inboxes, contactlists, and various other types of data. Computing device 130 maycommunicate with the e-mail server 110 over a local area network (LAN)120, which may be communicatively coupled to a wide area network (WAN)140 such as the Internet.

LAN 120 and WAN 140 are both computer networks providing communicationservices to computing devices in a certain geographic area. As indicatedby their names, local area network (LAN) 120 covers a small local area,in comparison to wide area network (WAN) 140 which may cover a largergeographic area. An example of LAN 120 may be a private network, such asin a home network or office network. An example of WAN 140 is theInternet. An e-mail server, such as e-mail server 110, may communicatewith various computing devices in the network, such as computing device130, through LAN 120. Computing device 130 may be any of a variety ofdesktop, laptop, personal computers, etc., configured to communicatewith other devices through LAN 120 or WAN 140. WAN 140 further allowsfor communication with mobile devices, such as mobile device 160. Suchcommunication may require the presence of a mobile e-mail gateway 150.

Mobile device 160 is inclusive of any variety of mobile devices that maycommunicate over the Internet. Such communication may include a wirelessor landline mobile network. Mobile device 160 are inclusive of cellulartelephones, smart phones, PDAs, wireless e-mail devices, handheldcomputers, and the like. A variety of mobile networks and communicationschannels for enabling Internet access are well known in the art.

In some embodiments, a mobile e-mail gateway may reside on e-mail server110. Alternatively, communications network 100 may include a mobilee-mail gateway 150 as a separate apparatus. Mobile e-mail gateway 150may provide mobile device 160 with message synchronization or access toe-mail messages stored on e-mail server 110. Mobile e-mail gateway 150may further be configured to evaluate an e-mail message to determinewhether the message is urgent, time-sensitive, or otherwise desirable toa particular recipient. Desirability may be based on various userspecifications.

For example, a message from an e-mail address in the user's contactsdatabase may be desirable. Other desirable messages may include, forexample, a message from an e-mail address used by the user to address anoutgoing message or a message with the same key words in the subjectlines as an outgoing message previously or concurrently sent by theuser. Operating in conjunction with e-mail server 110, mobile e-mailgateway 150 allows for a copy of the desirable message to be provided tothe mobile device 160, which may also include a notification concerningthe receipt of the desirable messages. Notifying the user concerning thereceipt of desirable messages allows the user to quickly review ane-mail inbox on mobile device 160 without having to distinguish thedesirable messages from undesirable messages.

Mobile e-mail gateway 150 allows for the desirable messages to befiltered from undesirable messages. In some embodiments, only thedesirable messages are delivered to mobile device 160. Alternatively,all messages may be delivered to mobile device 160 but only thedesirable messages are automatically displayed. Undesirable messages maybe hidden from view until requested by the user.

Using information such as e-mail addresses in a contacts database todetermine message desirability allows for updates to e-mail filteringwithout further effort for the user. For example, if a user adds a newcontact to the contacts database, mobile e-mail gateway 150 can use theupdated information in determining message desirability. In someembodiments, new e-mail addresses used by the user to address outgoingmessages may be automatically added to a contacts database associatedwith the user. Information used to determine desirability of an e-mailmessage may further include key words used in subject lines or a messagebody. As the user sends outgoing messages, information concerning thee-mail address of the addressees, key words in subject lines or messagebody, and so forth may be saved and referred to later by mobile e-mailgateway 150.

In an embodiment, an e-mail message may be received by e-mail server 110and communicated to computing device 130 through LAN 120. Further,e-mail server 110 may communicate the e-mail message to mobile device160 using connections provided by LAN 120 and WAN 140. The e-mailmessage may be filtered by mobile e-mail gateway 150, which determineswhether the e-mail message is desirable to the recipient based onvarious user specifications.

For example, a user specification designated by the user may considere-mail from known e-mail address to be desirable. In some embodiments,the user can designate various combinations of user specifications fordesirability from a list of predetermined user specifications. A copy ofa desirable message is provided to mobile device 160 along withnotification concerning the desirability of the message.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of an exemplary electronic-mail server 110used in systems for electronic-mail filtering for mobile devices. E-mailserver 110 may include contacts database 210, message profile database220, spam filter 230, and optional mobile e-mail gateway 240. E-mailfiltering for mobile devices may be performed on the server side of amobile e-mail communications system using a server like that disclosedin FIG. 2.

Contacts database 210 is a database configured to store informationregarding various contacts. Such contact information may includeinformation concerning various communication media associated with eachcontact, including phone numbers, e-mail addresses, IM addresses, SMSnumbers/addresses, and so forth. Information in contacts database 210may be added, deleted, and edited using, for example, a keyboardassociated with computing device 130, a keypad associated with mobiledevice 160, automated ‘add’ options, and synchronizing operations withother contacts databases.

Message profile database 220 is a database for storing informationconcerning outgoing e-mail messages sent by the user. The informationmay include e-mail addresses used to address the message, key words insubject lines or the body of a message, and so forth. In someembodiments, such information may be gathered and stored in messageprofile database 220 automatically. For example, when a user sends ane-mail, information concerning the recipient e-mail address or words inthe subject line of the e-mail or message body may be automaticallystored in message profile database 220. Message profile database 220 maybe consulted by the mobile e-mail gateway 240 for information used todetermine desirability of an e-mail message.

Spam filter 230 may be any of a variety of hardware and software used toidentify and process spam e-mail messages. Spam filter 230 may processan identified spam e-mail message by directing it into a folder forspam. Alternatively, spam filter 230 may automatically delete or removespam from an e-mail inbox. Messages correctly identified as spam aregenerally not considered desirable. Depending on a particular spammessage and spam filter, identification of a message as spam or not-spammay be incorrect. Some embodiments allow for user input in configurationof spam filter 230.

In some embodiments, e-mail server 110 may include a mobile e-mailgateway 240. The mobile e-mail gateway 240 associated with e-mail server110 may be any combination of a variety of hardware and software forfiltering e-mail messages in similar fashion as mobile e-mail gateway150 described with respect to FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIG. 1, themobile e-mail gateway 150 is a separate network appliance physicallydistinct from the e-mail server 110 but otherwise coupled to LAN 120,Associating the mobile e-mail gateway 240 with the e-mail server 110allows for transfer of only the messages found to be desirable from thee-mail server 110 to the mobile device 160. Mobile e-mail gateway 240may work in conjunction with contacts database 210, message profiledatabase 220, and spam filter 230 in this regard. As such, bandwidthusage may be reduced and battery life of the mobile device 160 may beextended.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an exemplary mobile device 160 used insystems for electronic-mail filtering for mobile devices. The mobiledevice 160 may include a contacts database 310, message profile database320, mobile e-mail gateway 330, and display 340. Various means for inputsuch as a keypad, QWERTY, or triple-tap keyboard are not displayed forclarity. Mobile device 160 may further include various means forsynchronization including a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port and/orsynchronization software.

Contacts database 310 and message profile database 320 may be similar tothe contacts database 210 and message profile database 220,respectively, of e-mail server 110 as discussed with respect to FIG. 2.E-mail messages to mobile device 110 may be filtered based oninformation stored in a contacts database and message profile databaseassociated with either the e-mail server 110 or the mobile device 160.The contacts databases and message profile databases associated with thee-mail server 110 and mobile device 160 may be able to synchronize theirinformation with the information stored by their counterpartsover-the-air or through a wired solution such as a USB cable.

Optional mobile e-mail gateway 330 associated with the mobile device 160may operate to filter e-mail messages in much the same manner as mobilee-mail gateway 240 associated with the e-mail server 110. Associatingmobile e-mail gateway 330 with mobile device 160 allows for transfer ofall messages to mobile device 160 and display of only the desirablemessages, which may provide for a faster user experience when the userwishes to view all messages, desirable or otherwise.

Display 340 may be configured to display a user environment throughwhich various communications applications, such as e-mail applications,can be accessed. Display 340 may include notifications concerning theuser's e-mail messages. Thus, a user of mobile device 160 may access anddetermine the status of all his/her e-mail messages from display 340.

For example, the user might see display 340 indicating that he/she hasreceived ten new e-mails, of which one e-mail is from an e-mail addressfound in contacts database 310, two e-mail messages are from an e-mailaddress used by the user to address an outgoing e-mail as indicated bymessage profile database 320, and one new e-mail has the same key wordsin the subject line as an outgoing e-mail sent by the user, alsoindicated by message profile database 320. The exact nature may bedisplayed as a part of an initial e-mail receipt indication or through asubsequent display or user interface. Further, the user may be able toaccess the six other messages through display 340 upon request. Whilethe user may not have received a notification concerning those sixe-mail messages, the user may request to view them through display 340.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting an exemplary method for electronic-mailfiltering for mobile devices. In this method, an e-mail message isreceived, provided to an e-mail inbox, and evaluated for desirabilitybased on user specifications. If the message is determined to bedesirable, the message is provided to a mobile device associated withthe recipient, which may include notification of the message. In someembodiments, notification may include simply displaying the desirablemessages or a list of the desirable messages.

In step 410, a message is received. An e-mail message sent to arecipient by a sender is received by an e-mail server 110 associatedwith the e-mail of the recipient. E-mail server 110 may store the e-mailmessage and/or forward the e-mail message to a computing device, asrequested or designated by the recipient.

In step 420, the message is provided to an e-mail inbox. In this step,e-mail server 110 forwards the message to an e-mail inbox associatedwith the recipient. The e-mail inbox may be accessed using a computingdevice such as computing device 130.

In step 430, desirability of the message is determined based on a userspecification. Mobile e-mail gateway filters desirable messages fromundesirable messages based on various user specifications. In variousembodiments, some filter specifications may be configured for use onmobile e-mail gateway. Such filter specifications may be designated byuser selection and applied to incoming e-mails without further userinput required. For example, a user may designate messages from e-mailaddresses present in a contacts database as desirable. Mobile e-mailgateway may consult the either the contacts database associated with thee-mail server, the contacts database associated with the mobile device,or both. Other preset user specifications may include messages from ane-mail address used by the user to send an outgoing message and messageswith the same key words in the subject line as outgoing messages sent bythe user. A message profile database stores information concerningoutgoing message and may be consulted by mobile e-mail gateway indetermining desirability.

In step 440, if the message is deemed to be desirable, a copy of thedesirable message is provided to a mobile device 160 associated with theuser. Operating in conjunction with a mobile e-mail gateway, mobiledevice 160 receives a copy of the desirable message from e-mail server110 using a network such as WAN 140.

In step 450, the user is notified of the desirable message. Notificationmay include a display of the desirable message, a link to a display ofdesirable messages, a flag or indicator alerting the user to thedesirability of the messages, and so forth. Such notification allows forthe user to quickly identify and access the desirable messages. The userno longer has to scroll through the clutter of undesirable messages(e.g., spam) to be able to find and respond to urgent, time-sensitive,or otherwise desirable messages. Further, undesirable messages may bewithheld from delivery to mobile device 160 or they may be hidden untilspecifically requested by the user.

In an optional step 460, after a message is determined to beundesirable, a copy of the undesirable message is provided to the mobiledevice associated with the user. Instead of the message being displayedas is the case in step 450, the message is hidden from view. In someembodiments, all messages-desirable and undesirable—are provided to themobile device automatically. Undesirable messages may be hidden fromview to make it easier for the user to browse through the desirablemessages. Undesirable messages may be messages that the user wants toreceive but may not be urgent or time-sensitive. Providing undesirablemessages allows the user to browse through them at the user's leisure.

In some embodiments, the undesirable messages may be sent to the mobiledevice 160 upon user request. Automatically providing the undesirablemessages to the mobile device 160 allows for a faster user experience inreceiving requested messages while providing the undesirable messagesonly upon request reduces the demand on bandwidth and battery life.

In optional step 470, the undesirable message may be displayed on themobile device. Where hidden messages are provided to mobile device 160,the user may request that they be ‘unmasked’ and displayed. The user maycustomize the display on mobile device 160 to show only desirablemessages, only undesirable messages, or all desirable and undesirablemessages.

While the present invention has been described in connection with aseries of preferred embodiment, these descriptions are not intended tolimit the scope of the invention to the particular forms set forthherein. To the contrary, the present descriptions are intended to coversuch alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be includedwithin the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appendedclaims and otherwise appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art.

1. A method for filtering electronic-mail messages on mobile devices,the method comprising: receiving one or more electronic-mail messagesaddressed to a user; providing the one or more received electronic-mailmessages to an inbox associated with the user; evaluating a message fromthe one or more received electronic-mail messages to determine whetherthe message is desirable based on at least a user specification;providing a copy of one or more desirable messages from the one or morereceived electronic-mail messages to a mobile device associated with theuser; and notifying the user concerning the copy of the one or moredesirable messages.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the userspecification includes electronic-mail messages originating from anelectronic-mail address found in a contacts database associated with theuser.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user specification includeselectronic-mail messages originating from an electronic-mail addressused to address an outgoing electronic-mail message sent by the user. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein the user specification includeselectronic-mail messages with a subject line including a key wordpresent in a subject line of a previously outgoing electronic-mailmessage sent by the user.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thedesirable messages may be displayed to the user at the mobile deviceupon request.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising providing acopy of one or more undesirable messages from the one or more receivedelectronic-mail messages to the mobile device associated with the user,and wherein the undesirable messages may be hidden from display untilrequested by the user.
 7. A system for filtering electronic-mailmessages on mobile devices, the system comprising: an e-mail serverconfigured to receive one or more electronic-mail messages addressed toa user, and to provide the one or more electronic-mail messages to aninbox associated with the user; a mobile device configured to receiveand display a copy of one or more electronic-mail messages; and a mobilee-mail gateway configured to notify the mobile device concerning a copyof one or more desirable messages from the one or more receivedelectronic-mail messages received by the e-mail server, the desirabilityof the messages having been determined based on at least a userspecification.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the mobile e-mailgateway is further configured to provide the mobile device with the copyof the one or more desirable messages. The system of claim 7, furthercomprising a contact database configured to store information concerninga plurality of contacts, and wherein the user specification includeselectronic-mail messages originating from an electronic-mail addressfound in a contacts database associated with the user
 9. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the contacts database is located on the mobile deviceassociated with the user.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein thecontacts database is located on the e-mail server.
 11. The system ofclaim 8, wherein a contacts database associated with the mobile deviceis configured to synchronize with a contacts database associated withthe e-mail server.
 12. The system of claim 7, further comprising amessage profile database configured to store information concerning aplurality of outgoing electronic-mail messages sent by the user.
 13. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the message profile database is furtherconfigured to store one or more electronic-mail addresses used toaddress outgoing electronic-mail messages sent by the user, and the userspecification includes electronic-mail messages originating from anelectronic-mail address from the one or more electronic-mail addressesstored in the message profile database.
 14. The system of claim 12,wherein the message profile database is further configured to store oneor more key words present in subject lines of previously outgoingelectronic-mail messages sent by the user, and the user specificationincludes electronic-mail messages with a subject line including at leastone key word from the one or more key words stored in the messageprofile database.
 15. A computer-readable storage medium having embodiedthereon a program, the program being executable by a computer processorto perform a method for filtering electronic-mail messages on mobiledevices comprising: receiving one or more electronic-mail messagesaddressed to a user; providing the one or more received electronic-mailmessages to an inbox associated with the user; evaluating a message fromthe one or more received electronic-mail messages to determine whetherthe message is desirable based on at least a user specification;providing a copy of one or more desirable messages from the one or morereceived electronic-mail messages to a mobile device associated with theuser; and notifying the user concerning the copy of the one or moredesirable messages.
 16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim15, wherein the user specification includes electronic-mail messagesoriginating from an electronic-mail address found in a contacts databaseassociated with the user.
 17. The computer-readable storage medium ofclaim 15, wherein the user specification includes electronic-mailmessages originating from an electronic-mail address used to address anoutgoing electronic-mail message sent by the user.
 18. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the userspecification includes electronic-mail messages with a subject lineincluding a key word present in a subject line of a previously outgoingelectronic-mail message sent by the user.